NBA legend and Philadelphia native Kobe Bryant will killed in a helicopter crash early Sunday morning in the Los Angeles area, according to a
TMZ report. ESPN, and multiple other outlets, have since confirmed the report.
There has been no official comment from the Bryant family.
“Kobe was traveling with at least 3 other people in his private helicopter when it went down. A fire broke out. Emergency personnel responded, but nobody on board survived. 5 people are confirmed dead. We're told Vanessa Bryant was not among those on board.”
The Los Angeles Lakers, the team Bryant spent his entire career playing for, released the following statement:
We can confirm that Kobe Bryant passed away today from the causes of a helicopter accident.The entire Los Angeles Lakers family wishes to support their family and friends.RIP KOBE --❤️ pic.twitter.com/FdqwpAFoGY
— Los Angeles Lakers (@LakersLosAngel)
January 26, 2020 Bryant was 41-years old and often spoke fondly of growing up in the Philadelphia area, and thanked the Philadelphia fans for all of their support after his final game in the area back in 2015.
“Thank you for everything,” Bryant
said at the time. “It’s such a beautiful thing. I was just driving around last night, going to all the parks I used to play in, just driving by them. You see so many familiar faces and you just kind of think about how fast time went.”
